Ordinarily, baked goods such as pastries, doughnuts and bagels become stale when exposed for extended periods to the humidity in the air. Clear display cases are used in grocery stores and other markets to allow the public to see items for sale without such items becoming stale. Often such display cases are fabricated from acrylic.
In the past, baked goods were kept "behind the counter". Such counter displays have transparent fronts and are accessible from the rear. Counter displays require additional employees to serve the customer and create unneeded delays for the customer in purchasing his/her goods. Also, such displays create additional costs which the market must bear to pay the extra employees. Because of the delays and the added costs associated with "behind the counter" arrangements many stores now place their baked goods in bins or containers which were accessible by the public.
Such bins present new problems. Bins which include sliding doors are often left open by customers after baked goods are taken out. Many state health codes require the lids of bins to remain closed when not in use. If a door stays open there is a health code violation, and the goods can become stale.
Because a large portion of state health codes require the lids of bins to close after use, many stores use bins having lids fastened to the bin by an ordinary hinge which remains closed due to gravity. Such bins are awkward as the customer needs to hold the lid open while selecting his/her goods. While the lid always closes after the goods are removed, the lid often slams shut on the customer's hand or head.
Many stores attempted to solve the problem of lids slamming on customers by including a latch for holding the lid open. The customer would merely open the lid, latch it in place, take his/her goods, unlatch the lid, and close the lid. However, like the bins with sliding doors, many customers, after opening and latching the lid, would not unlatch and close the lid. With the lid in the open position health codes may be violated, and the baked goods in the bin would become stale.
In the prior art, damped hinge arrangements are not compact enough to be useful in the small confines of a baked goods display case. Recently, a relatively small damped hinge arrangement became available which would allow a lid to be easily opened, while closing slowly. This arrangement is marketed by Sugatsune America, Inc. located at 221 East Selandia Lane, Carson, Calif., 90746. The Sugatsune damped hinge includes a ratchet mechanism and an annular rubber ring disposed between two sets of plates with an extending pivoted arm. The damped hinge includes a sprocketed support freely mobile to its open position and damped to its closed position. The sprocketed support of the damped hinge is attached to a side wall of a container and the pivoted arm is attached to the lid. The lid opens freely and closes in a damped fashion.
Unfortunately, the pivoted arm of the Sugatsune product often breaks if excessive force is applied to the lid to close it. Often, lids on bins used to store baked goods are slammed or abruptly opened by customers, which creates high or excessive forces. Therefore, a need exists to provide a durable yet compact mechanism which allows a lid of a bin to open easily and close slowly.
The bins/containers of the prior art do not disclose an apparatus which allows the bin to be opened freely and closed in a damped fashion, while being durable enough to withstand repeated abuse from customers. The present invention provides such a device.